BEIJING - United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates will visit China from Jan 9 to 12, according to a press release from the Ministry of Defense on Monday.

During his four-day visit, Gates will exchange views with his Chinese counterpart Liang Guanglie on international and regional security, bilateral military relations and other issues of common concern, according to the release.

"We hope the visit will help promote understanding and trust between the two militaries," said an official with the ministry.

It is also expected that this visit will help solve disputes and differences between the two militaries, enlarge shared benefits, improve the level of cooperation and develop healthy and stable military ties, said the official.

The visit also comes ahead of President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington in January.

Beijing broke off military ties in January after the US announced plans to sell arms worth more than $6.4 billion to Taiwan. The US has since been trying to resume military contacts.

Ties started to warm in mid-October when Defense Minister Liang Guanglie and Gates met in Hanoi before the inaugural meeting of Asia-Pacific defense ministers. Liang invited Gates to visit China early next year.

The two nations resumed their once-stalled defense consultations earlier this month with the 11th annual round of defense consultations held in Washington.

Co-chaired by General Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army, and the US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy, the two sides agreed that it is important to keep military ties stable.

Senior Colonel Zhao Xiaozhuo, an expert on US military affairs at the Academy of Military Science, said the stop-and-go bilateral military relations of the past decades, which have been frequently played as a diplomatic card, are of no good to either nation or other countries in the Asian region.

Zhao also noted that the bilateral military relationship should not be limited in the form of high-level visits, but should be extended to practical exchanges on lower levels such as joint trainings.

"But this is of slim chance to be realized in the near future before political trust between the two nations has risen to a high level," said Zhao.

China Daily